Following the launch of its all-electric compact crossover called the #1, smart has introduced a new lower priced base model called the “Pro.” By switching to LFP batteries, the #1 Pro offers lower range than its trim siblings, but at a more affordable price for consumers.
Germany’s Smart Automobile Co., Ltd. was founded in the ‘90s and has made a reputation for itself thanks compact cars designed specically for crowded urban centers. These days, the marque operates under parent company Mercedes-Benz AG.
In 2019, smart’s parent company announced a joint venture with Geely Holding Group to produce smart badged cars in China as well. That same year, smart began a drastic transition to electrification by dropping combustion engines for electric powertrains only.
In February of 2022, smart unveiled its #1 compact crossover SUV as its true emergence as an all electric brand. Although smart ceased selling its models in North America in 2019, we’ve seen the #1 emerge in Europe, beginning with four separate trims ranging in price.
Now, smart has announced a more affordable base model of the compact crossover that utilizes LFP batteries – perfect for consumers who don’t need to drive as far and want to save some cash. Check it out.
Credit: smart
Smart #1 Pro offers power price for less range
Today, smart introduced the #1 Pro – the most affordable version of its latest EV to date. Contrary to its previous trims housing 66 kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries, the #1 Pro features a smaller 49 kWh battery pack, equipped with lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells.
By using more affordable batteries, smart has been able to lower the price of the #1 Pro by 5,000 euros ($5,265) compared to the #1 Pro+ – the previous base model. Starting at an MSRP of 37,490 euros (~$39,475) the #1 Pro saves consumers money, but at the cost of some range.
The new version’s WLTP range is about 300 km (186 miles), down from 400-440 km (249-273 miles) its existing trims are currently offering with the larger packs. Per smart Europe CEO Dirk Adelmann:
We are more than happy to be able to live up to the expectations of urban drivers, who focus more on practical things like a good body to space ratio, and for whom a range of around 300 Kilometers is absolutely sufficient. The #1 Pro is a car for environmentally conscious city dwellers and commuters who can’t do without the premium quality and all-electric approach of the #1. At smart, the needs of users are always at the center of our considerations. The Pro line comes with a package that caters for all the requirements of contemporary drivers, and at a great value for money ratio.
Looking ahead, smart says the new #1 Pro will initially launched in Europe this fall, beginning with Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. From there the new LFP-powered crossover will gradually launch in the other European smart markets by the spring of 2024.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
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To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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The OPEC logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of a computer screen displaying OPEC icons in Ankara, Turkey, on June 25, 2024.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Eight oil-producing nations of the OPEC+ alliance agreed on Saturday to increase their collective crude production by 548,000 barrels per day, as they continue to unwind a set of voluntary supply cuts.
This subset of the alliance — comprising heavyweight producers Russia and Saudi Arabia, alongside Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates — met digitally earlier in the day. They had been expected to increase their output by a smaller 411,000 barrels per day.
In a statement, the OPEC Secretariat attributed the countries’ decision to raise August daily output by 548,000 barrels to “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories.”
The eight producers have been implementing two sets of voluntary production cuts outside of the broader OPEC+ coalition’s formal policy.
One, totaling 1.66 million barrels per day, stays in effect until the end of next year.
Under the second strategy, the countries reduced their production by an additional 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of the first quarter.
They initially set out to boost their production by 137,000 barrels per day every month until September 2026, but only sustained that pace in April. The group then tripled the hike to 411,000 barrels per day in each of May, June, and July — and is further accelerating the pace of their increases in August.
Oil prices were briefly boosted in recent weeks by the seasonal summer spike in demand and the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which threatened both Tehran’s supplies and raised concerns over potential disruptions of supplies transported through the key Strait of Hormuz.
At the end of the Friday session, oil futures settled at $68.30 per barrel for the September-expiration Ice Brent contract and at $66.50 per barrel for front month-August Nymex U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude.
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Trump’s Big Beautiful bill becoming law and going after EVs and solar, Tesla, Ford, and GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more
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